Research Information System
Cell Biochemistry and Function, vol.28, no.4, pp.274-277, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the skin and visceral organs. Fibrosis associated with SSc is characterized by an increased synthesis of a wide range of extracellular matrix (ECM). TGF-β is a pluripotent cytokine in a wide range of cell types. In particular it has been found to be a potent inducer of ECM protein synthesis and fibroblast migration. The TGF-β1 geneis highly polymorphic and two signal sequence polymorphisms at codon10 and codon 25 are linked to disease outcomes. In this study, we analysed two polymorphic sites of the TGF-β1 gene, codon 10 and codon 25, in 43 Turkish SSc female patients with interstitial lung involvement and in 75 healty individuals by ARMS-PCR. In our study no significant difference was found in codon 10, codon 25 genotype frequencies between patient with SSc and the control group (p = 0.676, 0.375, respectively). Our findings suggest that codon 10 and 25 polymorphism cannot be related with SSc for Turkish population. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.